Author Archives: Ashley Conley

WV MetroNews reported yesterday that the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is in the process of implementing a new user fee at seven state parks that would cost each car visiting one of the parks $2 per each entry or $12 for a yearly entry pass. This new implementation that will effect visitors to Babcock State Park, Blackwater Falls State Park, Coopers Rock State Forest, Little Beaver State Park, Pipestem Resort State Park and Valley Falls State Park, has sparked a multitude of public opinions and social media reactions.

Those on the “for” side of the fee argue that the revenue will help cleanup and protect the parks and forests while also playing a small part in aiding WV’s struggling budget.

@HoppyKercheval WV has to start chipping away at this MASSIVE debt. We need more revenue. Other states have been charging to enter state parks for years.

According to the WV Division of Natural Resources Director Steven McDaniel, over seven million people visited a state park in the Mountain State last year alone. His logic concludes that if each of those seven million visitors contributed just $2.75, the Division would no longer need state funding to upkeep the parks.

Coopers Rock State Forest (Gabe Dewitt/wv-art.com)

Coopers Rock State Forest, which is only a short 20-minute drive from the campus of West Virginia University and is a popular attraction for students, being included on the list of parks that will inquire the new fee has some students up in arms.

So we’re going to have to pay to get into Coopers Rock and other state parks now? Sad.

Have you ever been late to class (or just skipped all together) because of unreliable transportation? The PRT suffers break downs, the busses are sometimes overcrowded, there’s a decent amount of traffic and there are plenty of hills and stairs that make it difficult to ride a bike or skateboard to class; this is what West Virginia University students deal with on a daily basis. But is transportation at WVU and around Morgantown really as bad as it’s made out to be?

Your thoughts on the matter likely depend on your personal experiences. According to an article on the Mountaineer News Service, the PRT is fully functional only about 93 percent of the time, which means seven percent of the time, you’ll be stuck waiting at the station or trapped in a PRT car for an unknown length of repair. The bus system, on the other hand, isn’t much better. One WVU parent (name has been omitted for privacy) took to Facebook to rant her frustrations about her daughters’ horrible experience.

Although the transportation isn’t totally reliable and can be a real hassle, WVU students are at least lucky enough to have so many options right here on campus and even around the Morgantown area. The PRT can take you from Walnut, to Beechurst, to Towers or Engineering or even the Health Sciences campus; Busses travel to the Morgantown Mall, over to the University Town Centre (near Walmart) and to Suncrest, which is on the other end of town; and Uber, a popular taxi-like service, is now available in our area.

While all these options are helpful, they’re still not as convenient as having your own car on campus.

Having your own vehicle at WVU

I spoke to a handful of WVU seniors who each have had varying experiences with or without their own car on campus during their four-year collegiate career. Here’s what they had to say:

I didn’t have a car until my second semester of freshman year and I just felt more comfortable knowing that if I needed to go to the store or wanted to get food or anything I had a way to do it. And if something ever went wrong or I was in a bad situation, knowing I had my own transportation was nice.

– Seth Barbarow, who has had a car on campus for most of his tenure at WVU.

I think the transportation offered can be good, but with the new road work, especially around engineering, bus schedules can be unreliable . . . It’s harder for me to get to classes because my (apartment) shuttle doesn’t have a good schedule and WVU’s bus line doesn’t go near my apartment. Having a car and being able to park on campus has made driving to classes a much more reliable option.

– Corey Whitlatch, who has experienced both scenarios of having a car and not having a car on campus. He also has experience driving a motorcycle to and from classes.

I think Morgantown tries very hard to accommodate every student with their transportation needs and does a decent job for the most part, but I don’t think they take into account the amount of students that rely on it. (Not having your own car) makes it difficult, especially if you’re a freshman and don’t really have any friends with cars!

– Zachary Duff, who doesn’t have his license and has never had a car on campus.

(Having a car) made everything more convenient, especially with all the changes going on with the PRT and bus schedules changing on Engineering because of the new Crossing. It’s also convenient when it comes to job searches because I was able to go to interviews easily where if I didn’t have a car on campus I wouldn’t have a way to get there. I really didn’t mind not having one my first few years, but I probably couldn’t go back to not having one now.

– David Petrelle, who did not have a car on campus until his senior year.

Bringing your own car to campus just makes everything easier. There are two downsides, however: 1. Parking rates (and violation ticket prices) are through the roof and 2. The atrocious potholes in Morgantown can easily damage your vehicle. You can check out Cayla Nolder‘s post from yesterday for more information on Pothole Problems around WVU’s campus!

Wvu parking and transportation is so bad this man got a parking violation and doesn’t even have a car

Swimming, bridge jumping, rope swinging, sunbathing and drinking – what more could college kids ask for? The perfect outdoor venue for de-stressing, relaxing and having fun with friends, Blue Hole is a sweet little getaway spot conveniently located for West Virginia University students. But what about the locals?

Blue Hole hasn’t always been “party central”. When the partygoers aren’t there, locals have a chance to enjoy the tranquility of the Cheat River, that is, if loud and obnoxious groups of people that leave heaps of trash and leftover beer cans that litter the waterside doesn’t ruin it for them.

Sometimes, Blue Hole looks like this:

Amberlee Christey Photography

And sometimes, it looks more like this:

@arianacalvert/Twitter

Blue Hole certainly has changed over the years. When searching the internet, stories about the area becoming more of a social-gathering scene began to surface six years ago.

Local Opinions

“I’ve seen a pile of trash in the parking area probably about the size of a car,” local Junior Freed told the WV Gazette Mail in 2011. “You can look around; there’s beer cans and beer bottles. Over on the rocks where the kids swim, there’s broken glass. It shouldn’t be like that.”

“It is one of the most beautiful places in the world,” Heather Pell-Monahan, who grew up swimming in Blue Hole, posted to the Blue Hole, West Virginia Facebook page in 2013. “Please be respectful and keep the area cleaned up, as it would be a shame for it’s beauty to be unshared if ever made private due to the tons of trash people leave behind when being drunk and/or lazy.”

“People need to realize the (Cheat) river has its name for a reason and is not to be taken for granted,” posted Stephanie Lowdermilk. “Too many young out-of-towners have lost their lives there (referring to those who jump from the bridge). As a local who was raised here, I know of way too many deaths as a result of stupidity that people do here. The river is named The CHEAT for a reason. Respect that.”

Once again, when the partygoers aren’t there, Blue Hole is a fantastic place to unwind and simmer down while partaking in usual outdoor activities like biking, hiking, camping or even just walking your dog.

If you are a partygoer with plans to visit Blue Hole sometime soon, please keep in mind that leaving litter and other pollutants in the area can not only ruin the fun for everyone, but can also severely harm the environment. Also keep in mind that Blue Hole isn’t yours; it doesn’t belong to you — you are just another visitor. Be kind to the Wild and Wonderful.

Cover Image: urbexbybishop/Instagram

Ashley Conley is a senior journalism student at WVU. She aspires to become a writer or reporter in the sports industry upon graduation. You can follow her on Twitter @ashleyconleyyy.

With the naked eye alone, it’s not always easy to comprehend what’s bubbling on or under the surface of a body of water. But right now in Monongalia County, it’s more visually evident than ever that some popular water sources are suffering from substantial pollution.

“For example, Deckers Creek near Marilla Park can run orange from acid mine drainage,” said Reed College of Media assistant professor Emily Corio, who co-created the WVU StreamLab Project that allows students to monitor water quality on their own with DIY devices. “(The water) is not inviting . . . and in my opinion, I think the appearance of area waterways impacts the community’s desire to engage in water activities.”

Loaded with beautiful rocks and a handful of waterfalls, the Deckers Creek tributary should be a welcoming body for fishermen, personal boaters (like kayakers) and those who enjoy taking strolls down the adjacent walking trail, but the continued spread of pollution has began to alter its beauty and damage its intriguing essence.

According to deckerscreek.org – a site dedicated to the Creek’s conservation — acid mine drainage (from West Virginia coal mines) is the most common pollutant to the tributary, but it’s not the only one. Stormwater runoff, straight pipes, sewage overflows, illegal dumping and hazardous waste have created a potentially toxic environment for both humans and wildlife.

Would YOU be comfortable partaking in recreational activities in or around a waterway polluted by all these things?

Connor Cunningham, a sophomore at WVU double majoring in wildlife and fisheries and minoring in conservation and environmental protection, says a host of popular public access points to waterways in the Morgantown area are also experiencing rapid pollution, which is likely deterring students and residents from partaking in fishing, which is something he does frequently.

“Deckers creek, the Morgantown Lock and Dam, and the Mon Power Plant all have problems with storm pollution that brings pollutants and trash into their systems,” Cunningham said. “The (water near) the power plant is interesting because they dump warm water into the river and fish tend to stay near it when it’s colder (which can harm their natural balance). There’s also a sewer that empties into the river, which is pretty gross.”

Gross seems like quite the understatement. Luckily, a few local groups are doing everything they can to help clean up these invaluable bodies of water.

Trash collected in Morgantown this Saturday by more than 200 volunteers. (Image Credit: FODC_WV/Twitter)

“Friends of Deckers Creek does a pretty good job at cleaning that stream but it’s pretty hard as it’s such a big creek and runs through the heart of Morgantown,” Cunningham said. “The WVU Fly Fishing Club has also helped clean it up before.”

Both of those organization’s websites describe them as conservation-oriented with a common goal — to preserve and protect.

Professor Corio strongly believes that students and all people who live in or visit the Morgantown area can have a personal hand in the conservation process.

“People do contribute directly to pollution in the waterways and litter is one example,” she said. “They can also be part of the solution by helping to clean up litter and by not littering in the first place.”

Cover Image: uppermon.org

Ashley Conley is a senior journalism student at WVU. She aspires to become a writer or reporter in the sports industry upon graduation. You can follow her on Twitter @ashleyconleyyy.

It’s officially spring and the weather is getting warmer, which means you may be more inclined to take the stairs as you move from class to class on the campus of West Virginia University! *Note: This is the perfect time to add A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton to your Strolling to Class playlist.*

Of course, taking the stairs is always a healthier option than taking an elevator to avoid the extra effort, but is it really beneficial? For years, WVU students have complained about the mass number of stairs and have seemingly assumed that just because they have to face dreadful staircases like the Life Science stairs (also known as the LSB stairs) every day, they may not gain the famed “Freshman 15”.

If you’re a student or have visited the campus, you know all about the LSB stairs. 76 strides up, these bad boys will take your breath away. Sadly, the reality is that this set of stairs isn’t even remotely close to a tiny fraction of your daily exercise needs.

According to The Baton Rouge Clinic, a person that weighs between 150 and 160 pounds can burn roughly 10 calories per flight of stairs. That means you can burn close to 63 calories by walking up the LSB stairs one time. This is a start, but…

The LSB stairs

…to put that into perspective, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more per day than you consume just to lose one or two pounds in a week’s time, per LIVESTRONG. So, those of us who weren’t blessed with a fast metabolism and live off pizza and ice cream will need to do much more than just take the stairs to avoid that oh-so-frightening college weight gain.

“LSB is long and steep and usually crowded,” said Dustin Hamrick, a senior at WVU who finds the copious staircases to be an added displeasure to his daily routine. “And if you’re on crutches or disabled, you have almost no chance (of making it to the top).”

Conveniently, there’s an elevator located in the nearby Brooks Hall for those physically unable to take the stairs or for those who just don’t feel like breaking a sweat.

A tour group just walked up the LSB stairs and half had to stop to catch their breath.. At least we know which half won’t be attending WVU

Tracking your calories? Here’s what a person weighing between 150 and 160 pounds can expect to burn by taking other popular staircases at WVU (keep in mind that results vary based on exact weight and intensity of the stair climb):

The Stalnaker stairs

42 steps = roughly 35 calories burned per climb.

The Brooks-Woodburn stairs

90 steps = roughly 75 calories burned per climb.

The Armstrong stairs

48 steps = roughly 40 calories burned per climb.

The B&E stairs

52 steps = roughly 43 calories burned per climb.

The CAC stairs

72 steps = roughly 60 calories burned per climb.

“It helps to be in shape when going to this school,” said Mike Nadera, also a senior at WVU, who actually avoids the elevators to take the stairs. “With all the hills, stairs and the elevation itself, it makes we want to be in better shape so I’m not huffing and puffing when I get to my classes. When the elevators get busy, a person is going to wish they were ready to take on the environment here.”

De-stressing and improving your mood for the win!

Although walking up stairs on your way to class doesn’t burn enough calories to make a noticeable difference in your weight, there are plenty of long-term health benefits that stem from seemingly small exercises. According to Daniel Bonner, an associate professor of human performance and exercise physiology at WVU, these exercises (such as taking the stairs or parking further away from doors to boost your step count) can increase your oxygen consumption; increase blood flow to your brain and other vital organs; strengthen key muscles; improve your mood and even relieve stress.

“The benefits of even small changes in activities were the premise for Small Steps, the National Guard campaign known as Guard Your Health, which encourages people to make the effort to do small bouts of daily activity,” Bonner said.

Ironically, the first step of the Small Steps challenge, that began on March 1, was to take 5-10 flights of stairs.

“These (activities) guard against hypokinetic diseases, or conditions that come as a result of being sedentary,” Bonner said. “Another benefit is that many viruses are spread in areas where there are many people crowded in to a confined area (elevators, busses, PRT cars, etc.). There are fewer people walking the stairs and walking around in general, so that alone will make you less likely catch a virus from someone.”

Lmao people complaining about how many stairs there are at WVU is such a first world problem

Next time you trek to class on the WVU campus, keep in mind that by simply choosing the stairs over the elevator, you could do your health more than one favor. It only takes a few moments and a little bit of effort, and who knows – you might actually enjoy it.

Images in this article provided by the author.

Ashley Conley is a senior journalism student at WVU. She aspires to become a writer or reporter in the sports industry upon graduation. You can follow her on Twitter @ashleyconleyyy.